The recent local elections gave the Conservatives a larger majority than the previous council at County Hall and I would like to express on behalf of all Conservative Councillors and our candidates a big thank you for electing us back into power.

We all live in a wonderful county with a strong economy, excellent schools and job opportunities for all. While this is good we want to do more. No one can stand still and we don’t intend to do this and will now start to implement our manifesto commitments.

Although we have had to tighten our belts we have always managed the finances of Essex well and as a result we are able to re-direct money into front line services. Our road repair programme continues and we will invest in improving our roads. We have already committed to ensuring we build new schools and expand current ones to guarantee your children and grandchildren have an excellent education and good start in life. Infrastructure is also critical and we are working closely with Highways England to make substantial improvements to our key roads such as the A12, A120, M11, A127, A414, A13 as well as our primary county roads.

Caring for our older and vulnerable residents is crucially important and investing in their care is high on our priority list. We Conservatives strongly believe that the way we care for people defines a society and we want Essex to be at the forefront of embracing new technologies to ensure that care is delivered for the benefit of all.

Thank you for putting your faith in us to lead the county for the next four years and we promise that we shall always work hard for all residents.